With the 2019 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Vietnam mere days away from wrapping up, Team India is still going strong! Young Gun Abhinav Iyer’s winning the Main Event title not only brought India her first international title of the year, but seems to have opened the floodgates with many more Indian scores pouring in!

Looking to repeat Iyer’s incredible run in the Main Event, several Indians turned up for the much-awaited Championships Event which boasts of a VND 6 Billion guarantee (₹1.84 Crores). After the first starting flight (Day 1A), seven Indians made the cut for Day 2 with Vinod R. Megalmani (123,400) bagging the biggest stack.

Indian Chip Counts At The End of Day 1A

Dinh Xuan Dinh (245,900) topped the 60 survivors from Day 1A and will lead them to Day 2 where they will be joined by the hopefuls from Day 1B.

Many side events also played out along with the Championships Event where our Indian challengers once again came to the fore. Dhaval Mudgal and Madhav Gupta reached the final table in the High Rollers I, finishing third (for ₹16.43 Lakhs) and fourth (for ₹11.87 Lakhs) respectively. Meanwhile, Eka Vedantham placed 10^th in the Short Deck Shot Clock event for ₹39,334.

The High Rollers I crowned a winner in Van Ngoc Binh who pocketed VND 1,153,551,000 (₹35.48 Lakhs), even as Luen Hei Kwok collected VND 139,871,000 (₹4.30 Lakhs) for winning the Short Deck Shot Clock. Seo Dong Kyoon received (VND 120,000,000 (₹3.69 Lakhs) for taking down the Short Deck Single Day as Nadav Cohen clinched the title in the Short Deck High Rollers Single Day for VND 298,760,000 (₹9.18 Lakhs)

Championships Event – Day 1A Recap

While the Main Event may have been the star attraction of the APT Vietnam series, the VND 6 Billion guarantee (₹1,84,74,774) Championships Event is equally popular among the players. The event saw 123 entries joining the fray on the opening day. After eight levels of play, the field was whittled down to 60 runners.

A large contingent of Indians participated in the Championships Event with seven challengers qualifying for Day 2. Leading from the front was Vinod R. Megalmani (123,400), followed by Kunal Patni (102,900), Madhav Gupta (100,400), Eka Vedantham (86,800), Shravan Chhabria (79,600), 2017 WSOP bracelet winner Aditya Sushant (79,400) and the 2018 WPT Vietnam Main Event winner Dhaval Mudgal (61,100).

It was local pro Dinh Xuan Dinh who emerged as the chip leader for Day 1A with a stack of 245,900, barely edging past Korea’s Soo Jo Kim when he busted a player in the final hand of the day. Kim who is a former APT Main Event champion bagged 229,200 and holds the second largest stack with Duy Thanh Dang (213,800) rounding off the top three stacks.

Other notable stacks include High Rollers 1 champion Van Ngoc Binh (150,000), Dang Van Hien (127,200), former APT Championships Event winner Huu Dung Nguyen (111,600) and Phachara Wongwichit (80,600).

Top 10 Chip Counts At The End of Day 1A

1. Dinh Xuan Dinh – 245,900

2. Soo Jo Kim – 229,200

3. Duy Thanh Dang – 213,800

4. Lim Yo Hwan – 205,900

5. Nguyen Tuan Anh – 194,800

6. Erik Billgren – 194,500

7. Kyung Kun Lee – 183,800

8. Slaven Popov – 172,500

9. Duy Ho – 162,200

10. Tuan Monaco – 153,500

High Rollers I

The two-day long High Rollers I event pulled in a total of 89 entries for a buy-in of VND 53,750,000 (₹1,65,328), eventually collecting VND 4,316,500,000 (₹1,32,77,036) in prize money.

Two Indian contenders were seen gunning for the top prize in the event. Dhaval Mudgal and Madhav Gupta reached the final table and came very close to taking down event but were ultimately eliminated before the heads-up commenced. While Mudgal finished third for VND 534,261,000 (₹16,43,322), Gupta placed fourth for VND 386,147,000 (₹11,87,741).

Several big names featured among the 15 players who received payouts including Joonhee Yea (10^th for VND 100,136,000 – ₹3,08,006), Jinlong Hu (11^th for VND 100,136,000 – ₹3,08,006), Chun Ho Edward Yam (12^th for VND 83,447,000 – ₹2,56,672), Ian Andrew Modder (13^th for VND 83,447,000 – ₹2,56,672), Calvin Tan (14^th for VND 83,447,000 – ₹2,56,672) and Johannes Felix Hold (15^th for VND 69,539,000 – ₹2,13,893).

Dinh Xuan Dinh finished 9^th for VND 120,164,000 and bubbled the final table.

Final Table Recap

The final showdown saw two local pros, Van Ngoc Binh and Le Ngoc Khanh, square off against each other. On the final hand, Khanh’s were cracked by Binh’s which bettered to a rivered straight on the runout . Binh banked VND 1,153,551,000 (₹35,48,184) for his win, as Khanh walked away with VND 769,034,000 (₹23,65,456) for his runner-up finish.

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Van Ngoc Binh – VND 1,153,551.000

2. Le Ngoc Khanh – VND 769,034,000

3. Dhaval Mudgal – VND 534,261,000

4. Madhav Gupta – VND 386,147,000

5. Phong Lam – VND 288,776,000

6. Rotem Bacher – VND 222,875,000

7. Iori Yogo – VND 176,984,000

8. Hao He – VND 144,196,000

Short Deck Shot Clock

The Short Deck Shot Clock event was the first Short Deck event of the series and attracted a field of 57 entries (46 unique and 11 re-entries). With a buy-in of VND 9,900,000 (₹30,451), the event generated a prize pool of VND 497,610,000 (₹15,30,588).

Hong Kong’s Luen Hei Kwok bested UK’s Jerome Bradpiece in the heads-up play to claim his maiden APT title for a VND 139,871,000 (₹4,30,226) payday.

Team India’s Eka Vedantham also featured in the event and finished 10^th for VND 12,788,000 (₹39,334).

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Luen Hei Kwok – VND 139,871,000

2. Jerome Bradpiece – VND 105,657,000

3. Chu Thai Thinh – VND 68,275,000

4. Nguyen Viet Long – VND 36,879,000

5. Duy Tung Nguyen – VND 36,879,000

6. Tran Thanh Vinh – VND 28,463,000

7. Eugene Co – VND 22,602,000

8. Andreas Rauh – VND 18,415,000

Short Deck Single Day Event

71 players joined in the fast-paced action of the Short Deck Single Day event creating a VND 482,090,000 (₹14,82,851) prize pool.

Monster Stack winner Michael Kim Falcon had amassed a huge stack on the final table and was looking poised to ship his second event of the series, but his dep run came to an end in third-place.

Korea’s Seo Dong Kyoon dominated the heads-up against Vietnam’s Nguyen Viet Long. The final two players struck a heads-up deal, following which Kyoon took away VND 120,000,000 (₹3,69,105) after winning the event. Long picked up VND 107,168,000 (₹3,29,635) for finishing as the runner-up.

Among the 12 players who received payouts were Lim Yo Hwan (9^th for VND 14,198,000 – ₹43,671), Chung Fai Ngeow (10^th for VND 11,832,000 – ₹36,393), Chu Thai Thinh (11^th for VND 11,832,000 – ₹36,393) and Luen Hei Kwok (12^th for VND 9,860,000 – ₹30,328).

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Seo Dong Kyoon – VND 120,000,000

2. Nguyen Viet Long – VND 107,168,000

3. Michael Kim Falcon – VND 63,169,000

4. Yoichi Uesugi – VND 45,626,000

5. Xiaosheng Zheng – VND 34,121,000

6. Iyeonggyo Jin – VND 26,334,000

7. Byungwook Ahn – VND 20,912,000

8. LÊ NguyỄn Duy LÂm – VND 17,038,000

Short Deck High Rollers Single Day Shot

The Short Deck High Rollers Single Day did not draw in as many players as expected with only 11 runners turning up for the event that helped generate a VND 426,800,000 (₹13,12,785) prize pool. Israeli player Nadav Cohen captured the title for a paycheque of VND 298,760,000 (₹9,18,949) as Jinhyo Yoo came in second for VND 128,040,000 (₹3,93,835).

With the second starting flight of the Championships Event, i.e. Day 1B, slated to play out later today, many more Indian challengers are expected to be seen in action.

Images & Content courtesy: Asian Poker Tour

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